‘Little Saigon’ protest draws 2,500 in advance of Tuesday’s vote

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Thousands from all over the state join together to rally in front of San Jose City Hall in support of the "Little Saigon" moniker in San Jose on March 2. The "Little Saigon" business distict naming controversy continues to boil in advance of Tuesday's city council meeting in which they're supposed to put the issue to bed once and for all.

Thousands from all over the state, including Le Tu, second from left, of Orange County and Tuan Nguyen of San Bernardino, third from left, join together to rally in front of San Jose City Hall in support of the "Little Saigon" moniker in San Jose on March 2. Tu and 12 other people from Orange County drove up from Southern California and arrived here at 2 a.m. Sunday morning, waiting in front of the San Jose City Hall until the start of Sunday's protest. The "Little Saigon" business distict naming controversy continues to boil in advance of Tuesday's city council meeting in which they're supposed to put the issue to bed once and for all.

Thousands from all over the state join together to rally in front of San Jose City Hall in support of the "Little Saigon" moniker in San Jose on March 2. The "Little Saigon" business distict naming controversy continues to boil in advance of Tuesday's city council meeting in which they're supposed to put the issue to bed once and for all.

Thousands from all over the state join together to rally in front of San Jose City Hall in support of the "Little Saigon" moniker in San Jose on March 2. The "Little Saigon" business distict naming controversy continues to boil in advance of Tuesday's city council meeting in which they're supposed to put the issue to bed once and for all.

Thousands from all over the state join together to rally in front of San Jose City Hall, including this woman holding up a "non la" (Vietnamese leaf-covered hat), in support of the "Little Saigon" moniker in San Jose on March 2, 2008. The "Little Saigon" business distict naming controversy continues to boil in advance of Tuesday's city council meeting in which they're supposed to put the issue to bed once and for all. (Joanne Ho-Young Lee/Mercury News)

Ly Tong, third from left (sitting down), a renowned Vietnamese activist who is currently on a hunger striker in support of the "Little Saigon" name, watch the rally with other supporters in front of San Jose City Hall in San Jose on March 2, 2008. The "Little Saigon" business distict naming controversy continues to boil in advance of Tuesday's city council meeting in which they're supposed to put the issue to bed once and for all. (Joanne Ho-Young Lee/Mercury News)

The "Little Saigon" business distict naming controversy continues to boil in advance of Tuesday's city council meeting in which they're supposed to put the issue to bed once and for all. Today, supposedly 1,000 people - "from all over the state" - are supposed to descend upon city hall to join together in a mass protest in support of the "Little Saigon" moniker.SATTERFIELD has requested you try to get a high vantage point to show the numbers (if there are many). People here say there is a balcony on the tower (not the dome) that is accessible from the outside. May not be very high though. Look around and see what you can do. If you can't get high enough, Delevett says the reporter wlll be down there, and he can get you into the main building.

More than 2,500 people converged at San Jose City Hall on Sunday to demand that the city name a Vietnamese retail area on Story Road “Little Saigon, as new allegations emerged that Councilwoman Madison Nguyen had a “private deal” with a developer to pick a different name.

The rally – the largest ever at City Hall – set the stage for a climactic vote Tuesday night.

The spirited crowd waved the red and yellow flag of South Vietnam before the 1975 communist takeover, shouting “Little Saigon” in unison. Young families with babies in strollers and seniors seemed united in their rage against the city.

The huge turnout was the latest – and most vivid example – that the city council has let the Little Saigon controversy spin wildly out of control.

Last November, by an 8-3 vote, the council approved “Saigon Business District” as the name – a move that led to the extraordinary backlash.

“The whole city council spat in our face,” said Thien Ho, a 23-year-old bio-chemistry major at San Jose State University. “Even though we came out and showed our support for Little Saigon, they didn’t listen. It was like they had already made up their mind.”

While the official crowd estimate from City Hall security staff was 2,500, Little Saigon supporters claimed several thousand more were in attendance.

The Little Saigon blowup has become the biggest political issue in San Jose, sparking international interest that the council would gladly see go away.

Many of the protesters believe that the council betrayed them and that Nguyen – who is at the center of the firestorm – cooked up a deal behind the scenes nearly a year ago with a developer, Lap Tang, to name the area “Vietnam Town Business District.”

Tang is building a new mall that he plans to call “Vietnam Town.”

On Sunday, organizers announced to the crowd and presented e-mail correspondence between Nguyen and the city’s redevelopment agency, showing that the councilwoman as far back as April was pushing for the name “Vietnam Town” and that the developer was willing to pay for signage.

The e-mail exchange, her political opponents charge, is proof of a hidden agenda and early dislike of the name “Little Saigon.”

The “Vietnam Town” name fell through after the city attorney informed the redevelopment agency staff that private outside dollars could not be used to fund the project.

On Sunday, Nguyen dismissed the allegations.

She said that early on she contacted many of the property owners on Story Road because she thought that naming the area “Vietnam Town” might be “cool” because it was also the name of the private development. But, she said, once the city attorney weighed in on the issue, she backed off – and began to reach out to the public to decide on a name. At that point, Nguyen said, she had no preference for a name.

“I have been accused of everything possible under the sun,” Nguyen said. “This is just another scheme to steer the public in the wrong direction. This is just another mechanism or tactic to continue this charade.”

Members of San Jose Voters For Democracy, the main group pushing for the name Little Saigon, plan to focus on the e-mail exchange on Tuesday night as another reason that the council should name the area Little Saigon.

“They know what the community wants, so why deny it?” said Martha Nguyen-Le of Fremont, a Vietnamese emigre. “Here, it is supposed to be about democracy.”

In recent weeks, the council has faced allegations of breaking the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law. Because of questions about whether Nguyen spoke to a majority of the council prior to the November vote, the city attorney said the perception alone is enough reason why the council should reconsider its vote.

The controversy has also had its surreal moments.

Ly Tong, a 63-year-old anti-communist crusader, launched a hunger strike on Feb. 15 and is camped out in front of City Hall. Tong has escaped from several communist prisons, trekked 1,600 miles across Southeast Asia and hijacked a Vietnam Airlines jet and dropped 50,000 leaflets over Ho Chi Minh City, proclaiming himself the “commander in chief” of an anti-communist revolution.

The stunt landed him six years in prison during the ’90s.

Since the vote, the activists have also held weekly rallies outside City Hall.

The issue has also soured relationships among city council members. Vice Mayor Dave Cortese originally voted against Little Saigon but has since broken ranks with Nguyen.

“This is an issue of freedom,” said Cortese, who is running for county supervisor. “This is an issue of human rights. This is an issue of democracy. The people have spoken. I will do everything in my power to make sure on Tuesday Little Saigon prevails.”

Nguyen has maintained throughout the ordeal that a “silent majority” opposes Little Saigon. And recently more than 500 people in the Vietnamese community put their names on an open letter calling for a calm solution to the controversy.

But for thousands of Vietnamese-Americans, who believe that Little Saigon represents their homeland, the solution is simple.

“I support Little Saigon,” said Dung Tran of San Jose. “It stands for my country. I want that name back.”